


'Til You Make It

by raikaya (rqyh)



Series: Seasons: The Four Briwoon AUs [3]
Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Annoying and Rich Kang Younghyun | Young K, Cat and Dog Dynamic, Exes, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff and Humor, Implied Sexual Content, Light Angst, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Strangers to Frenemies to Lovers, Swearing, Yoon Dowoon-centric, Younghyun is actually annoying, also, and rich, annoying exes, fake dating au, i just realized this is also a college au nice, my sister said the title was dumb but ayy lmao who cares, set in autumn, slowly falling in love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2020-01-04 19:57:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18350645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rqyh/pseuds/raikaya
Summary: Dowoon is a college freshman who's sole purpose in life is to live it as normally as possible. All he wants to do is to get his Music Degree, put up his own drum school, and grow old with about a dozen dogs running about in his future apartment complex just like Ms Jeon from the room next-over.But when a random stranger kisses him senseless on the very night he decided to go to a party on the first time, it would seem that all of those hopes and dreams had been set on fire.And that isn't even the worst part.





	'Til You Make It

**Author's Note:**

> **Result of the poll: second place!**

Contrary to popular opinion, Dowoon doesn't actually hate parties. While he is somewhat averse to the idea of coming in contact with people he isn’t familiar with, the idea of meeting like-minded people and listening to music and maybe having a drink or two doesn’t seem all that stupid to him at all. I mean, who would think so, right? Parties are fun and peaceful and really help get your mind off things, especially as a stressed college student in your first year.

            How _ever_. There _is_ one _particular_ kind of party that Dowoon absolutely _does_ hate. The kind that makes Dowoon wanna pack his bags to move out of Seoul and go back to Busan, get sucked into a sinkhole to never be remembered or seen ever again, or regret every single thing that he's ever done prior to this. Whichever comes first.

            And unfortunately, the party Dowoon is currently at is exactly that.

            “Aww, baby, why are you being like this—I know you still love me,” a woman next to Dowoon whines to a man, fingers unabashedly running up and down his chest like it’s some kind of massage session or something.

            “Why are you being so _difficult_?” the man groans in reply, and Dowoon has to look away, already knowing where this will probably end.

            This party is one of those college parties you usually see in Western movies with all the strobing lights completely blinding your vision, the loudest booming music that’s almost _trying_ to give Dowoon a heart attack, and way, way, _waaay_ too many drinks _and_ people in one room. Who the hell knew these kinds of parties actually existed in real life? Who the hell even _let_ these happen outside of a TV screen?

            The moment Dowoon walked in he was immediately yanked inside by the sweatiest, drunkest stranger who immediately tried to grab hold onto him like an animal, giving him the biggest indication of how tonight was gonna be like. With good fortune (and possibly pity from his ancestors) Dowoon had somehow slipped away from the stranger’s creepy hands to bump and “excuse me” his way through too many strangers, before finally reaching his place at the end of the bar table, sitting peacefully between a couple making out and another couple having an argument that will probably lead to making out. Dowoon has watched Western movies; he knows how these things go.

            Dowoon sighs to himself, digging his elbow into his knee and pressing his knuckles against his cheek like The Thinker. He has absolutely no idea why he let himself get dragged into this place when literally everyone around him _knows_ he absolutely despises any form of mass socialization that doesn't go beyond, “Hi, hello, I’m fine, and you?” If the size of the party wasn't enough, it’s the fact that almost everyone here is _some_ brand of annoying, flirty, stupid, or chaotic—and none of those Dowoon wants as a quality in a friend.

            Not to mention the absolute catastrophe that is the noise filling up the room because of some stupid synth pop song that isn't even the _good_ kind of synth pop song, the people on the dance floor looking more like dogs in heat or newlyweds on their honeymoon in Jeju-do, and the fact that it’s supposed to be nearing Autumn, and yet the entire room feels like it got transformed into a giant furnace.

            And perhaps, Dowoon _would_ be able to appreciate the beauty of the blue, pink, and purple lights being shone from above if he was just an onlooker, but when all the aforementioned factors come into play, aesthetics is just a fancy word with no substance.

            The worst part of this is probably the fact that Dowoon can't even ditch this stupid party and go home to rest in his wonderfully cozy bed with only silence to sing him to sleep, because the friends (“friends”) who actually brought him here are his only ride back to the apartment and Dowoon stupidly forgot his wallet at home so he can't even get a taxi. Why the hell did someone decide to hold a stupid, drunk party at a top of a building probably kilometers away from Dowoon’s apartment? _Who_ is this party even _for_?

            Dowoon shakes his head, groaning for the fifth time in the last ten minutes and wanting absolutely _nothing_ but to leave this party and go back to studying like a normal college student or procrastinating by binge-ing a TV show like a normal human being.

            “Jesus, will you _fucking calm down_?”

            Dowoon rolls his eyes at the couple to his right, who have been at it since the moment he sat on the bar stool. By the sounds of it, they're probably gonna start groping each other or touching each other’s places or whatever it is drunk people do; Dowoon expects he’s gonna have to find a different bar stool to lament on about his bad choice of friends sometime soon.

            “But I can't, baby… I can't calm down when I’m with you…”

            “I already told you I’m seeing someone, so _back_ off!”

            Dowoon puts out a pout in an “Oh, _damn_ ” expression, finding this sudden turn of events interesting. The female-sounding voice seems to have _serious_ issues.

            A scoff. “Seeing someone? Don't make me laugh. I know for a fact that you only attend parties like this to hook up—if you were dating someone, why even come?”

            “That’s because my boyfriend is here, you delusional—”

            “ _Boyfriend_? _What_ boyfriend?”

            Dowoon could practically hear the smirk in the male’s voice.

            “Why— _this_ boyfriend.”

            Suddenly, Dowoon feels a pair of lips press against his own, catching himself so off-guard that he ends up folding his arms against his own chest, feeling someone press their own against it.

            He feels an arm snake around his torso and a hand caress his neck—and it’s when this person’s fingers find their way to a certain spot on his nape that Dowoon feels himself melting under the touch, not having felt anything like this before.

            And then, the lips pull away and Dowoon opens his eyes to reality.

            A reality filled with a pair of brown eyes similar to a fox’s, jet black hair falling just a bit over them, and a toothy grin directed at him, confident and all-knowing.

            “Sorry, babe,” says the stranger, “I’m late.”

            For everything that’s going to happen tonight, Dowoon is going to blame it all on his friends.

            A thousand questions blare across his head in italics and made bold, most of them going, **_What—why—who—babe?_**

            “ _BABE_?” a female voice shrieks, and Dowoon turns to that direction to see a short young woman with hair dyed a combination of brown and blonde, curled and flowing just beyond her shoulders. She's dressed rather extravagantly, if the silver bracelets, dangling earrings, and tight-fitted glittery outfit is any indication.

            Dowoon doesn't have time to process anything before the man who just kissed him— _holy fuck this man just kissed him_ —drapes an arm around his shoulders and pulls him closer to him.

            “That’s right, Seolhyun,” the man says with a smirk on his face. “This man is my boyfriend, so you can go buzz off now.”

            “ _Boyfriend_?” Seolhyun practically shrieks like a banshee. Or a siren. Either way, she shrieks very frighteningly and Dowoon would've cowered in fear if this man wasn't holding onto him like he wants him to stay put.

            He chuckles before turning to Dowoon, who's staring at him with wide eyes.

            “Seems like she’s in shock, babe,” he says. “Why don't you tell her instead?”

            The man gives him a pointed look behind him a charming smile but Dowoon’s mind is just going, _WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?_

            “I-I—I don’t—this is—why is thi—I—WHO _IS_ SHE?” Dowoon ends up half-yelling, pointing an accusing finger at the woman. This is probably the best he can do.

            Seolhyun lets out the most offended scoff in history.

            “I’m his _girlfriend_ of one year and _two_ months,” she says.

            “ _Ex-_ girlfriend of _six_ months,” the man corrects with a shake of a head, “but don't worry, babe—” he turns to Dowoon with a reassuring grin (a condescending grimace)— “She’s nothing.”

            “ _NOTHING_?” Seolhyun yells, looking like she's about to lunge herself onto the man. “ _How dare you—_ ”

            At that point, Dowoon’s Pacifist Instinct activates, and he snaps out of his “I HAVE NO ONE IDEA WHAT’S HAPPENING” tirade to hold two hands out before this Seolhyun girl actually attacks his, uh, friend(?).

            “H-hey! N-no fighting!” Dowoon says, waving his hands. “D-don’t you know violence is a… uh… sin?”

            Seolhyun gives him a disgusted look. She turns to the man.

            “ _This_ ,” she asks, “is the person you replaced me with?”

            “He may be an _idiot_ —” the man’s grip on his shoulder tightens just a bit— “but he’s _my_ idiot. Aren't you, babe?”

            Dowoon just gawks at this man for a moment, not knowing if he should be offended that he just got insulted by two complete strangers or still be confused with everything that's happening.

            “Well, _I_ don’t believe it,” Seolhyun haughtily says, crossing her arms. “I’m not gonna stop trying to get you back just because of some _pretend_ boyfriend, or whatever. I _will_ get you back, and when I do, you're going to be _begging_ for my forgiveness.”

            The woman turns to walk away, flipping her hair as she does so. Her heels are probably making loud clacking noises but Dowoon can't hear them beyond the bass booming in the room.

            He waits for that woman to leave his sight.

            Before losing his shit.

            “WHAT THE _HELL_ WAS THAT?” he absolutely yells, pushing the man from before off of him and tripping in the process.

            “Woah, wait a second, you might fall—” the man warns with a hand out—

            “I’ll let myself fall down on my ass as many times as I want, thank you very much!” Dowoon interrupts him, taking a few pained steps away from the man. He’s standing at the edge of the bar table, looking like he couldn’t be any more bothered. “Who even _are_ you?”

            At that, the man raises a very slow eyebrow.

            “You don't know who I am?” he asks.

            Dowoon feels ten years of his life leave him.

            “ _Oh_ , my god, you're one of those pretentious assholes who think they're above everyone else—of course. Of _course,_ this would happen in the first party I attend—thanks the fuck a lot!”

            Dowoon throws his hands up in the air in a complaining gesture to his ancestors somewhere in the sky above him; they should've guided him to _outside_ the party instead of the bar, old hags.

            Dowoon puts his hands down, completely resigning. “You know what? Fuck this whole thing—I am _not_ going to let myself into some fucked-up drama—good fucking _day_ to you!”

            Dowoon turns to walk away from this entire thing—

            “Hey, wait! Don’t go!”

            He feels someone grab his wrist and turns to see the man from before holding onto it, his previous confidence watered down to desperation.

            “Okay, you don't know me—that’s cool,” he says quickly. “Maybe we went off on a wrong start. I’m Kang Younghyun.”

            “And _I’m_ leaving,” Dowoon says.

            He turns to walk away—

            And promptly gets forcibly yanked back, somehow perfectly landing on a bar stool.

            “ _What the absolute fuck_ ,” Dowoon almost shouts, frustrated, putting every ounce of anger he has in the glare he sends the man—Younghyun, or whatever.

            “Look,” he starts, not letting go of Dowoon, “just let me explain for a moment.”

            “As if I have a choice,” Dowoon resigns bitterly, rolling his eyes. He nods at him, annoyed. “Go. Fucking explain.”

            “Thank fuck he's listening,” Younghyun mutters under his breath before continuing out loud, “Look, uh…”

            Younghyun gives him a questioning look and Dowoon rolls his eyes.

            “Yoon Dowoon.”

            “Okay— _Dowoon_ ,” he continues. “That girl back there has been trying to get back with me after I broke up with her last year. We only went out for six months and it was really only for the sex, but she is absolutely _convinced_ that she's my future wife or something like that.”

            “Yeah, how stupid—who would ever wanna get married to you,” Dowoon deadpans; Younghyun just rolls his eyes at that.

            “Point is: she's been driving me _nuts_ and no matter what I do I can't get her off my back.”

            “Then, tell her no—why are you even—"

            “Did you not see what just happened? I _have_ been saying no—multiple times, even. But she just—you’ve seen what she’s like—I can’t get her off my back!”

            “Then—then—”

            Dowoon lets out a yell of frustration.

            “ _Ugh_! Why are you even telling me this? This is none of my business!” Dowoon says, wanting nothing but to run away from this situation and pretend it never happened.

            “ _Because_ ,” Younghyun says, looking at him directly in the eye, “I _need_ your _fucking_ help.”

            “My _help_?” Dowoon repeats, now even more confused. “Why on _earth_ do you need my he— _ohhh, nonononono—_ ”

            It suddenly clicks why Younghyun kissed him, and dear fucking _god_ , it was so obvious but because Dowoon was so fucking confused by everything he didn't realize that

            “I need you,” Younghyun says alongside Dowoon’s “ _nonono_ ”s, “to pretend to be my boyfriend.”

            “— _ononononono—hell_ no!” Dowoon absolutely refuses, shaking his head rapidly and really, really, _really_ regretting agreeing to go to this party.

            “Come on! Please—you’ve seen what she’s like. This is the only way,” Younghyun pleads, actually grabbing onto Dowoon’s hands right now; he wishes he was strong enough to pull away.

            “No way in hell, dude! I just _started_ college—I don’t _need_ this kind of drama in my life, Jesus—”

            “Come _on_ , Dowoon, she already believes that we’re dating even if she tells me she doesn't believe it—”

            “ _Ask someone else, then_!” Dowoon interrupts him, exasperated. “Go tell her you broke up with me and got with someone else and let _that_ person pretend instead!”

            “ _No_ —if I do that, she’s never gonna believe _anything_ I say—have you ever heard of The Boy Who Cried Wolf?”

            “Almost sounds like the story of my life—The Boy Who Cries About His Poor Life Choices.”

            Dowoon just lets out a tired groan, wanting to put his hands up in a “why me” gesture but Younghyun is still holding onto them.

            “Please,” Younghyun says, shifting to look Dowoon straight in the eye, “help me.”

            “Why should I?” Dowoon turns toward him with an angry expression. “ _You’re_ the one who comes over into my life and kiss— _kisses_ me just to get a girl off your back! I was having a peaceful life, man! I don’t need shit like this to ruin it!”

            “Well, I’m sorry, okay?” Younghyun raises his voice, not sounding like it. “It could've been literally _anyone_ in this entire room, but it just _happened_ to be you!”

            “So, I’m supposed to just fucking accept my fate and follow you just like that?” Dowoon spits, feeling a new wave of anger come over him. “Fuck you, Younghyun. I’m leaving.”

            Dowoon moves to stand up again—

            “No— _wait_!”

            Younghyun yanks him back down.

            “ _WHY ARE YOU SO FUCKING STRONG_?” Dowoon actually screams this time, not caring about how more than three onlookers are staring at him now.

            Younghyun lets out a sigh, before turning to Dowoon with a tired expression on his face.

            “I’m rich,” he says.

            “ _No one fucking cares if you're rich_ —”

            “I can buy almost anything,” he interrupts him. “A watch. A car. An apartment. Anything. Anything you want. As _often_ as you want. As _much_ as you want.”

            Dowoon stares at him in disbelief.

            “Are you seriously trying to buy me right now?” he asks, incredulous.

            “It’s all I got,” he says. “Unless you want daily mind-blowing sex because I could definitely do that for you, but I doubt you'd want that.”

            Dowoon doesn't say anything for a while and Dowoon sees the way Younghyun’s face softens, actually looking like he cares for once.

            “Look, I’m not some cold-hearted asshole, alright?” he says. “I _know_ I’m asking for a lot. But none of this would've even be happening if fucking Seolhyun just knew when to accept a no. So, if there's anyone to blame it’s her.

            “And I _need_ your help on this. I promise that once this is over and she is absolutely gone in my life, I will _completely_ be out of yours. It’ll be like we never knew each other. Like this whole thing never even happened.”

            Dowoon keeps silent for a moment, letting everything that happened since he came into this damned room settle in his mind. Younghyun keeps looking at him, hopeful.

            “… How long do you think it’ll last?” Dowoon eventually asks.

            “If we do it _really_ well, maybe not even a month,” Younghyun says. “Knowing how stubborn Seolhyun is, it could take longer, no lie… but by the end of the year, I swear it’ll be over.”

            Dowoon looks down at his lap, where Younghyun is still holding onto his hands. To an onlooker, they probably look like a couple having a really intimate moment after a big fight—definitely not a guy trying to convince a stranger to pretend to be in a relationship with him. The situation is funny, really. Who knew that people could see something so different from what it really is?

            Dowoon looks up at Younghyun, mind made up.

            “Do you know the really popular cartoon show about a group of animals trying to come up with a band?” he asks, face completely serious.

            Younghyun furrows his eyebrows at that, looking confused.

            “You mean DM6?” he asks. “Yeah, everyone knows it—there are literal ads of them promoting a shoe brand all over the city.”

            Dowoon looks at Younghyun dead in the eye.

            “I want all six of the limited edition plushies right on my doorstep by tomorrow,” he says.

            Younghyun blinks at Dowoon for a few seconds, looking a little taken aback.

            Then, a slow smile creeps up on his face, the confident and all-knowing person Dowoon saw before Seolhyun left coming back.

            “Just give me the details and you’ll have them on your doorstep _tonight_ ,” Younghyun says, a permanent smirk on his face.

            Dowoon lets out a long, long breath at that, feeling the nervousness kick in.

            “You really think we could pull this off?” he asks, feeling a tiny drop of unease settle in his chest.

            “I _know_ we can,” Younghyun says. “So, do we have a deal?”

            Dowoon takes a deep breath.

            “We have a deal,” he says.

            For everything that’s going to happen from tonight onwards, Dowoon is putting _all_ of it on his friends—no more, no less.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, frens! So, this is the third fic under my "Seasons" project, which I have informally dubbed as "The Four Briwoon AUs" multiple times on Twitter, and that which is a series consisting of four different and unconnected Briwoon AUs that each represent and is set in a certain season. This time, it's a Fake Dating AU and a College AU entitled "'Til You Make It", set in and representing the beautiful season of Autumn! (Additionally, we had a [guessing game on Twitter](https://twitter.com/raikayyylmao/status/1113400352122953728) but unfortunately, no one got it _exactly_ right. The same thing happened with the Spring AU adhakdka)
> 
> The idea for Seasons basically is that after posting all of the first chapters of all four AUs at once, readers can decide which AU they want to be finished _and_ posted first and [after a one-month voting period](https://twitter.com/raikayyylmao/status/1126094484519829504), the results showed that "'Til You Make It" would be the **second** fic to be finished!
> 
> During the waiting period, I will still continue to post WSLY chapter updates, as well as some scattered fics so that it wouldn't be that too difficult of a wait ^^. As I continue to write the fic, it is possible that things from the original chapter posted could change, but rest assured that the main elements of the story are fixed and would only have minor changes, if ever. 
> 
> Each story under Seasons is a chaptered fic with a progressive plot, which is a complete divergence from my usual one-shots and episodic chapters. I wanted to be able to challenge myself to come up with more unique AUs and interesting plots and character dynamics so that I could better improve on my writing skills, as well as provide more varying content for the readers and basically the fandom as a whole! I'm always striving to get better at everything I do, and although I know I've still got a long way to go before I can _really_ call my works excellent, I hope that at the very least, you, as the reader, are able to learn something, make yourself think or reflect, and/or smile because of some of the things I've written. After all, that is my ultimate goal when it comes to these things ^^.
> 
> "Seasons" is a project I've been wanting to do for a long time now, and I hope that by the time it's finished, I've had provided and made stories that were worth the wait.
> 
> Thank you for reading this little thing of mine, and I hope you have a wonderful day!
> 
> twitter: [@raikayyylmao](https://twitter.com/raikayyylmao)  
> curiouscat: [@raikayyylmao](https://curiouscat.me/raikayyylmao)  
> hellopoetry: [@ruqiruqi](https://hellopoetry.com/ruqiruqi/)


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